Lobster Bisque & Wine Pairing

Rich white wines such as Champagne, Chardonnay, Dry Amontillado Sherry, and Sauternes pair best with Lobster Bisque. Lobster Bisque is a silky lobster soup created by making a broth from lobster shells. The broth is then thickened with rice or breadcrumbs. 

Lobster Bisque tastes more like the actual Lobster than Lobster itself, which we often drown with butter to make it tastier. Thus, Lobster Bisque requires flavourful and rich wines to hold up to its bold flavours. Lighter white wines will still work with Lobster Bisque, but they will quickly disappear into the depths of the rich broth, meaning that you’ll probably never even taste the wine you are drinking.

Best Wine with Lobster Bisque

Dry Amontillado & Lobster Bisque Pairing

Any dry Sherry will go well with Lobster Bisque, however, I recommend an Amontillado as it has a fuller body to match the richness of your Lobster Bisque. Lobster Bisque recopies often call for a splash of Sherry, so pairing it up with Sherry will add some complementary notes.

Amontillado Sherry has notes of hazelnuts, walnuts, toffee, vanilla, apricot, caramel and raisins. The nutty and sweeter notes of Amontillado Sherry provide a nice contrast against the richness of the Lobster Bisque while matching the flavourful weight of this rich soup.

Dry Sherry will pair with nearly everything, yet in North America, we rarely reach for the stuff. Thus, if you are holding a banquet and serving Lobster Bisque, I’d suggest one of the recommendations below. For homemade Lobster Bisque served at an intimate dinner party, I’d recommend giving Sherry a try. If you are on the fence about it, perhaps serve a small snifter of Sherry beside one of our other recommendations, where guests can sample the Sherry or hold on to it for their dessert or for an after-dinner plate of nuts and cheese.

Champagne Blanc de Blanc & Lobster Bisque Pairing

Lobster Bisque is the hallmark dish of any fine French Restaurant, and Champagne is the quintessential French sparkling wine. Thus, it would make sense these two would pair up incredibly well.

Champagne Blanc de Blanc is a sparkling wine made entirely from Chardonnay grapes and features notes of almond, apple, brioche, caramel, citrus, honey, minerals, vanilla, pear and smoke. These flavours are subtle but have enough weight to them to hold up to a flavourful bowl of Lobster Bisque. The minerality of Champagne also complements the sea breeze flavours found in your Lobster broth.

Champagne is acidic, thus it cuts through the richness of the Lobster Bisque and draws out all the delicious flavours of your Bisque. Meanwhile, the acidity of Champagne is electric, meaning it makes the delicious flavours of your soup stand out even more.

Lobster Bisque is often an opening course, thus, pairing it with Champagne is certain to create excitement as everyone loves a glass of bubbly. The only issue is that Champagne is a tough wine to follow. Most white wines will taste flat after your guests have been spoiled to the seductive kiss of delicious white wine. My solution has always been to serve the next course up with Champagne as well or follow up with a red wine paired with a meaty dish. But, again, I try to build my food and wine pairings, so the excitement continues to build. In reality, if you have good company, nobody will ever notice.

If budget is a concern, any sparkling wine will pair up nice with Lobster Bisque. Thus if you’re holding a wedding and serving Lobster Bisque, reach for a bottle of Prosecco or Cava to keep your costs down. Every dollar saved adds up, and your guests will still enjoy the pairing.

Sauternes & Lobster Bisque Pairing

Another famous French wine is Sauternes, and unlike a dry Champagne or Sherry, this is the polar opposite as Sauternes is sweet. Sauternes hails from the Bordeaux region of France is aromatic with notes of honey, peach, pineapple, nuts, caramel, vanilla and dried fruit.

The rich flavours of Sauternes offer a complementary weight to the creamy Lobster Bisque. Meanwhile, the merging but contrasting flavours of sweet and salty create a heavenly marriage of flavours in your mouth as these two powerhouses collide. Keep this pairing strictly for a restaurant or for intimate dinner parties. Sauternes is far too expensive to be paired with Lobster Bisque at large banquets.

Chardonnay & Lobster Bisque Pairing

A full-bodied Chardonnay that has been aged in oak will have notes of toast, butter and vanilla that complement the rich flavours of Lobster Bisque. Meanwhile, you’ll also get vibrant apple, pear and citrus notes that cut through the creamy and savoury body of your Lobster Bisque.

You’ll want a Chardonnay that is oaked but not over-oaked or mass-produced. Cheap Chardonnay tends to taste artificial or like rancid butter as the winemakers have cheated and used toasted vanilla chips to age their wine. Proper Chardonnay needs to be aged in oak casks and produced by winemakers who respect the grape, not the dollar signs. French Burgundy is often a sign of quality, however, it will run you a few bucks. Australia and California also offer up excellent versions of Chardonnay, thus, with Lobster Bisque, I’d suggest a bottle that is $17 or more, and avoid anything in the $12 and under range.

Chardonnay is going to be one of the more affordable recommendations on this list, making it ideal for banquets or dinner parties where your budget has been blown on the expensive lobster meat. For those of us who don’t live near the ocean, Lobster is certainly not cheap!

Gewürztraminer & Lobster Bisque Pairing

Gewürztraminer is medium to full-bodied white wine that is highly aromatic with notes of lychee, rose petals, peach, apricot, black pepper and spice. Gewürztraminer works well with Lobster Bisque as its aromatic notes power through the rich and creamy lobster bisque broth. Thus you taste both the wine and the Lobster Bisque on the finish.

The Alsace region of France produces the most famous versions of Gewürztraminer, however, you’ll find excellent examples of this white wine around the globe in Canada, USA, Australia, Austria, New Zealand and Italy.  You’ll find dry to sweet versions of Gewürztraminer, thus, you’ll need to do some research before you pick up your bottle.  Gewürztraminer from Alsace is normally dry, and has an oily texture and a hint of salinity that complements the rich saltiness of Lobster Bisque.

For Lobster Bisque, I prefer a dry Gewürztraminer, and I enjoy how the lychee flavours contrast the salty and savoury aspect of the Lobster Bisque.  Gewürztraminer also isn’t acidic, so it’s not going to accentuate the flavours of Lobster Bisque.  However, with Lobster Bisque being so rich as is, I don’t feel like you need to make any individual flavours in the dish stand out.

Not everyone is a fan of Gewürztraminer’s spicy and aromatic flavours. For those new to wine, they might find Gewürztraminer’s flavours a little too adventurous, and if you feel you fall into this group, I would stick to wines you know, such as a Chardonnay.